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Riptide Ride

4.7 (122 reviews)

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This was so much fun! We had a boat ride with an experienced boat driver that got us into great spots to see water falls caves and many breathtaking views- up close- he also made the boat ride extra fun by playing fun music and giving us g us a splash here and there- no one stayed dry but it was a beautiful day! We loved it!

"Face"
Jamie M.

We highly recommend this place! We went on a Wednesday at 11am and sat on the left side of the boat 3rd row from back. Tim the owner and captain was very informative on the tour and pointed out eagles and nests. Waterfalls and pictured rocks and depth of water. I am not a water or boat person and I enjoyed it! I would suggest to wear water shoes and rainco

Tasha H.

Absolutely loved it. I don't remember their names but it's a husband and wife team that run this company. The wife runs the shop and the husband gets to play on the boat (not in a bad way) . I'm glad we stumbled across this tour because I've taken the basic tour but this one is honestly thrilling and beautiful all at the same time. You go around grand island and they are very knowledgeable about everything. We saw bald eagles and all the cliffs which only get better the farther you get into the tour. The boat goes really close in some spots which is really cool. Definitely recommend for anyone who wants to see around grand island but wants thrill as well. Just a heads up though you do have a chance of getting wet

The best! Fast and fun 25 miles in 90 minutes captain was 3rd generation local super informative and fun with some crazy fun navigation highly recommend

I would do this 100+ more times because it was such a blast! Boat captain was super fun and gave a great tour!

Pictured Rocks
Amanda B.

Had a fun time, but definitely wish we would have had a livelier group of people on our boat--think that would have made it more fun! We'd definitely go back with friends for a wilder ride. The boat ride itself was a blast, and we loved how the captain was able to squeeze us underneath the outcropping rocks so we got a better view. The speed was fun, the riptide turns a blast! Only reason we didn't give this a 5 star is because I wish Capt. Tim gave a little more information about the area and/or the Pictured Rocks.

Rhonda W.

Capt Tim was the best. He will take great care of you and your family. This was a absolute blast. Great scenery up close .. this littler boat can get closer and get you there faster which is exactly what i wanted. It will be cold and wet even on the hot summer days... so dress for it. boat shoes, sweat shirt , jeans, rain gear. camera that can get wet. get there early and get in line .. so you can chose the left side of the boat and Ideally upfront or lots of head in the way was of your pics. we could have been on the left or the right .. we chose wrong. the staff is wonderful. it's fun you will get SOAKED and tossed around a bit. He does these boat spins that are a blast but wow you get wet. a water proof layer or rain gear would be a great idea. I am old with bad shoulders and days later i'm still sore but dont regret a moment of it. It was a blast. I laughed so hard. it was like being young again for a few moments. Once again this is a must for all ages. kids loved it. It was very safe but for goodness sake dress for it. the kids in shorts and short sleeves were shivering and that bothered us. Not the staffs fault. I took my waterproof digital and my 50 zoom sony on the trip. I kept the sony safe in my rain coat unless we were obviously not ready to get wet. unfortunately my beloved 5 yr camera picked this trip to have a multi system death. this had NOTHING to do with the boat tour. but it did make getting a great photo rough. I had to hit the buttom over 10 times to get it to come on, wouldn't take pics if the camera was sideways, the door for the battery wouldn't stay shut .. yeah time for a new camera. But the point is with a working camera and if we'd set on the let side ... ohhhh boy could my pics have been better. Next time!!!! try to go when nice day with blue sky. We highly recommend this and i would love to go again on the LEFT side.

Randy T.

I know a lot of people enjoyed this ride. It very well could be that they do have a boat, and any boat ride would excite them. We went July 29 at 12:00. We were seated on the star board side of the boat, the boat went counter clockwise around the island. With 5 people seated between me and the island, I did not see very much. Really, I did not see any of the shore line, only that portion above the people's heads. Forget taking pictures, except for a few stops at the falls and light houses. The speaker on the boat will make you feel as if you are in a Charlie Brown movie. Difficult to understand what the caption is saying. Lastly, the spins are actually 180° turns with a quick stop. A spin sounds like you would be doing a 360° turn. But the 6 or 7 that the captain did, excited some people. Save your money and do the Picture Rock tour. Plan in advance, because this is how we ended up on the Riptide!

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The whole experience kicked ass! Amazing captain and an amazing experience. We will be back in the future!

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7 years ago

Awesome ride with some thrills, but not too scary for kids. Put on some bug spray if the black flies are biting!

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Ask the Community - Riptide Ride

Review Highlights - Riptide Ride

If you're looking for a FUN way to spend part of your day outside of Pictured Rock don't miss this trip!!

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Pictured Rocks Cruises - Rocco and I

Pictured Rocks Cruises

(248 reviews)

Recommended! Pictured Rocks is a section of coastline of Lake Superior that is indeed highly…read morescenic. I liked "Battleship Row", which totally does look like something from Pearl Harbor circa 1941, if you just use a little imagination. You also see arches, and a pretty unique tree-on-an-island where the roots extend through the air to the mainland. As scenic tours go, this is a good one.

We saw what we could via trails and via car routes…read more 2 hour boat ride that rides along all of the rocks along the shore. The $46 ride is all of the rocks. Next ride is at 2PM. The $54 ride is all of the rocks + the spray falls. Next ride is at 3PM. Waiting to sit in chairs to start the boarding process at 2:45 PM. There are two rows of seats are already full outside on the dock. We are seated by 2:34pm, in the second group or 4th row. We took the 4th row of seats, even though there are open seats in the 3rd row, but it's facing right into the sun. Need to stay cooler and thus our back to the sun. A staffer checks in guest last names and count, while we are seated. Boarding the cruise boat by 2:47pm. Pushing off from the docks by 3pm. Right on time and we aren't even in Korea or Japan. Fancy that! We are off by 3:03pm. Knots and wind is picking up. Hair is up. The boat is called Spray Falls. Boat was built in 2022. The captain is funny, gregarious, captain Noah. 63 Feet boat. Holds 150 people. Boat can get up to 25 MPH. Run by 2 caterpillar diesel fuel engines. Captain Noah. Cheyenne and Ashley are part of the crew. The rocks will be on the right on our way out and on the left on the way back. Castle Rock by 3:25pm. Chapel Cove by 3:56pm, we were able to ride inside the cove. Passing by Spray Falls by 4:03pm. Not sure it was worth the extra $8 for the rather small falls. The rock formations are worth the visit for sure. Turning around now by 4:06pm. Good thing. I am pretty done with seeing the rocks by now. We are back at the docks by 5:06pm. Disembarking by 5:08pm.

Seaberg Pontoon Rentals

Seaberg Pontoon Rentals

(34 reviews)

I would highly recommend Seaberg Pontoon Rentals! We rented a 25 ft pontoon to tour ourselves…read morearound Pictured Rocks. The boat was clean and well maintained. They gave us very clear instructions of where to go and where not to go. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. They brought a wagon up to our car to load with our stuff and brought the wagon back upon our arrival. They made the process very easy! This was such an amazing experience for us to explore Lake Superior and Pictured Rocks.

My family rented from this company a few years ago and had a great experience--friendly staff,…read morebeautiful lake, smooth process. That's why we came back. But this time? The owner (Bryan) ruined everything. Right when we got there, our group (we're all Asian) was greeted with: "Can you guys speak English?" Yeah. That was the first thing out of his mouth. It was rude, racist, and unnecessary. We were stunned but tried to brush it off to enjoy the day. Fast forward, while trying to close the boat door using my foot (kicking not even forcefully--I just didn't know how the mechanism worked), he immediately snapped and shouted: "Kick my boat again and I'll kick your ass." Mind you, I'm 16. That's an adult man threatening a minor--over a door. No explanation, no patience. Just straight-up aggression. Like I'm sorry I that I ever kicked the door but there is still no justification in yelling at a MINOR that doesn't go on daily pontoon rides and suddenly know how everything works. After that, he told us to "take a picture of your props." We were all confused--props? Like stage props? Personal belongings? The property? Even my dad, who's a trained seaman (of the Philippines so of course their training had to be different), had no idea what he meant. Turns out he meant the propeller--but instead of explaining, he started yelling "PROPELLER!" like we were supposed to automatically understand his vague boat lingo. We're not boat people. We came to enjoy the lake, not operate a ship. The way he barked at us made everything stressful and awkward. And then--after everything he said and did--he had the nerve to ask if we had any leftover food. Sir... you just threatened me, disrespected my group, and yelled at us like we were idiots... and now you want a snack? Absolutely not. Hell no. Plus, who asks strangers for leftovers? Since you took our money, you definitely have enough for happy meal at Mcdonald's. Absolutely bull-... behavior. At that point, all I could do was laugh. Not because it was funny, but because it felt like a bad comedy sketch. The whole thing was ridiculous. The boat ride was beautiful. The other staff were professional and kind. But the owner's behavior was racist, threatening, condescending, and completely unprofessional. We won't return while he's in charge. If you care about basic human respect--go anywhere else. P.S. we were lucky enough to not get served by Ellen, which judging by the reviews, also has a bad attitude. Beware.

Paddling Michigan

Paddling Michigan

(140 reviews)

AMAZING EXPERIENCE!! I am going to list a couple of pros and cons for this place but no matter what…read morecompany you choose, go kayak pictured rocks. Incredible formations of land that you can't see anywhere else. I lived in Michigan for 20 years and had no idea the Upper Peninsula held the treasures we got to see! Pros: -The guides had a ton of energy and were very patient with the people in our group. We had a great group of good listeners and that helped but our guide was also very flexible and let us veer off into the waters without having to stick super close to us. -The time of day that we went really made a difference. We chose the "sunset" tour so we were able to see the pictures rocks around 4-6pm . Though this is not sunset, it was still pretty to see the sun reflecting off the different colors of the rocks and formations. -the ability to just hop on a bus and hop in a kayak without carrying them helped as well. It just made everything really easy and seamless. Cons: -the bus to the launch off site didn't have A/C which was fine, but we just sat there waiting for other buses to unload and I think that could have been done a little differently. It was too hot to have thirty people sweating in a bus. -tour time said 6 hours but we only kayaked for 3.5 which was fine but maybe make it clear on the site that the bus time would take a hour round trip -I also would have suggested just an hour for lunch, being able to get out and eat our lunch on the beach was great but I didn't need to be there for 1.5 hours, I would have rather done a shorter lunch and gotten back sooner Overall, amazing and an outstanding time we had!

Overall, this was a great experience. Our guide, Tanner, was knowledgeable and fun. He was able to…read moretalk to us about the rock formations and made sure to talk to everyone in the group and even learned our names. One of the bases we rode had no AC, which was tough on a hot day, but the ride to the beach was short, so this didn't taint the experience. The kayaking was fun and Pictured Rocks is beautiful. The company is well organized and timely. I recommend this experience.

Pictured Rocks Kayaking

Pictured Rocks Kayaking

(103 reviews)

We did the long tour with Emily, and she took us to so many spots, it was magical and she gave us a…read morebunch of fun stories and jokes. She even took photos of us and air-dropped them to us afterward. It rained in the morning but the water was calm. So cool launching kayaks from the boat.

-- A Bucket-List Experience That Photos Can't Capture Date…read moreof Visit: July 21, 2025 If you're even thinking about visiting Munising, MI or the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore -- stop thinking and book with Pictured Rocks Kayaking (@picturedrockskayaking). Our family (my wife, our 15-year-old daughter, and me) did the boat-assisted morning tour on a calm July day, and it was one of the most unforgettable outdoor experiences we've ever had. We've kayaked before (including at Acadia National Park), but nothing compares to this. From Chapel Rock and Lover's Leap to the hidden sea caves, every bend of shoreline revealed a new natural wonder. Photos don't do this place justice -- it's something you truly have to experience firsthand from the seat of a kayak. And our guide? Julia Illy (@JuliaIlly) was phenomenal. She struck the perfect balance between safety-first leadership and fun, filling the journey with geological insights, local history, and witty humor that made the paddle fly by. You can tell she loves what she does and cares about giving people a meaningful, memorable trip. The whole operation is smooth and professional -- from the boat ride out (big energy saver!) to the gear, support team, and route design. Whether you're new to kayaking or a seasoned paddler, this is a can't-miss Michigan adventure. We'll remember this day forever. Huge thanks to the team -- and to Julia, who truly rocks (in every sense of the word ).

Riptide Ride - tours - Updated May 2026

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